We held a children’s camp, and God brought 55 children to us! The kids felt the atmosphere of God’s love and heard the Gospel! Everything went great, and we are so happy! Thank you for your prayers!
We also strengthened the foundation of the church building! Our neighbors helped us complete this task as we needed an excavator for it. Now, the foundation is solid and strong. Praise the Lord!
Our next task is to clean and paint the walls of our bomb shelter. We also plan to organize a retreat for our team of volunteers. We need your prayers and support! Glory to God for you and your participation.
We need to finish the bomb shelter by September because our children’s center will receive a large number of children at that time. This is a very challenging task with a severe lack of resources. Please pray for us!
I feel lonely and tired. I know that the devil wants me to give up; he wants to scare and stop me due to the lack of faithful people and resources. I need your support, your prayers, and your help!
My soul is shaken. I feel deep pain watching what is happening to my country. The war continues. Every day, a huge number of Ukrainians die. I was just informed that another brother from our community has died. A young man. He has a wife and 3 children. Now they are orphans. Please pray for this. Another member of our church was abducted tonight. He is being forced to become a soldier and go to war. But he has no training, no weapons, no food, no shelter. Such young men are sent to die. We turned to a lawyer. The lawyer says that there is almost no chance of avoiding mobilization. It hurts me deeply, and I am terrified that our government continues to send defenseless and helpless people to their deaths. Fear hovers over the country. People fear Russia, and people do not trust our government. The border is closed for men, and this also creates panic among the population. I ask you to pray that we stay alive. I also ask you to pray for me so that I can continue my ministry. I, too, could be forcibly sent to the front line. I trust in God and ask you to pray for God’s mercy for me and my family. Russia continues missile attacks. Last week was very difficult for our region. Twice a day, we have power outages for 8 hours. In winter, it is expected that power will be out for 20 hours a day. I understand that we need to buy batteries so that in winter we can have light and continue our ministry to children. Please pray for this. Thank you for your service to us.
The situation with electricity is becoming more and more difficult. In eastern Ukraine, there has been no electricity for several days. Russia continues to bomb power stations in our region. Because of this, we experience daily power outages for several hours. Many people are suffering due to this, especially hospitals that cannot perform scheduled surgeries and treatments without power.
The situation for men is also very challenging. The actions of the Ukrainian government are increasingly coercive. Men are being abducted off the streets and then sent to the front lines. Most have no combat training, gear, or weapons to defend themselves. Many men are trying to flee the country, but it is dangerous and very difficult.
It is hard for me to describe this horror and despair. I have turned from a pastor into a psychologist and psychotherapist, as fear and panic have caused many people to develop mental illnesses and disorders. Our government has lost its sense of reason, and democracy is turning into dictatorship. Today, we are dedicating all our efforts to discipleship, and I ask you to pray for this. Thank you for thinking of us, praying for us, and supporting us.
I am very grateful for your prayers, which are desperately needed during this terrible time. In the photo, you see our brother Ruslan, a young man who came to believe in God at our refugee shelter. He was baptized, and we witnessed his active spiritual growth with great joy. Afterward, he became a soldier. This week, we received the heartbreaking news that Ruslan has died. It is incredibly painful to realize that so many young people are losing their lives in the war.
As a pastor, I am also facing a new challenge: a significant number of young people are experiencing severe psychological issues. These include the fear of war, the fear of dying, anxiety, and depression. I ask you to pray for wisdom so that we can help those who are deeply suffering emotionally.
I also want to share some joy with you. I am working on a discipleship book for the elderly. This book is special because each chapter will include a link to a sermon on the topic covered. I was searching for someone with great authority, experience, knowledge, and renown, whose insights could help readers better understand God. I found such a person and had an amazing interview. It is Grigory Komendant. I am very excited to present his thoughts to all Christians in Ukraine!
2 years of war – 2 years of destruction. The situation in Lviv is stable. Air raids occur on average 2-3 times a week. The most difficult situation is in Dnipro and Odessa. There are frequent rocket attacks and explosions in the city. My family and church are fine. There’s a lot of work, but that’s good. There’s no time to be bored. Our work with people started with social assistance, but now there are more and more spiritual matters, prayers, mentoring. We see significant spiritual progress. Oksana is treating her shoulder joint. It’s painful, but we hope the treatment will help.
There’s also a lot of work in the church community. We serve refugees, visit hospitals, and assist wounded soldiers. The construction of bomb shelters continues. The work is progressing faster than I can gather funds. I’m glad to see the changes. Another payment is due in 3 weeks. I believe that God sends us everything we need at the right time. It calms me and brings peace to my heart. Please pray that we can start planning a new ministry. It’s a children’s educational center. We plan to provide education for children and teach them the Bible, drawing, art, and foreign languages.
This ministry is a marathon. It’s a race without an end. The war doesn’t end. It’s a big disappointment. But we continue to fight. And the next 3 days our church will fast and pray for peace for Ukraine. Please remember us in your prayers. Also, people who need our help don’t end. It’s very cold -17 degrees Celsius (1 Fahrenheit) at night. And so people really appreciate the warmth of our church building. Please pray for our ability to continue to accept people. The payment for heating and electricity has significantly increased. And we feel this pressure. And of course, we continue to build a bomb shelter. We have prepared a room of about 40 square meters. And now we are installing metal structures.
Please pray that God gives wisdom and help in this responsible work. As I said: our ministry is a marathon. Thank you for running this marathon with us. I am very grateful for your support! It is so necessary and so valuable! Thank you for being present and participating in our ministry. Running alone is hard. Running a marathon together is joyful.
Please pray for us.
Pray for my health. Apparently, fatigue, stress, and of course, the virus want to stop me and the ministry. Due to illness, I sleep poorly and feel very weak.
